It’s that time of year, when joy abounds and people all around are spreading Christmas cheer. The Christmas season is known for its fun parties, frolicking children running around the Christmas Tree, families coming together and bonding. But what holds the fort down when it comes to the “season to be jolly” are Christmas carols.

A Christmas carol is essentially a song or hymn, which consists of lyrics based on the theme of “Christmas”. People wait all year to be able to sing these carols at parties as they truly do signify the true spirit of Christmas. Apart from all the fun and games that are associated with the Christmas season, it is the carols that really bring out the meaning of Christmas. Talking about peace on Earth and Goodwill to men, these carols are just the right way to give Christmas the final push into becoming a meaningful one.

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Musical notes

Christmas carols may be regarded as a subset of the broader category of Christmas music. While many might not be able to differentiate between Christmas carols and Christmas music, the easiest way to understand the difference is simply by listening to the lyrics. Songs, which deal with the religious imagery and significance of Christmas, are carols while songs are about the lighter things around Christmas, like the evergreen Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus, as he is referred to in popular culture around the world, irrespective of the nation’s majority religion.

I know for a fact that when I look back at some of the happiest Christmas memories stored in my subconscious, I always end up thinking about the carol-singing sessions we would participate in at house parties of family members. There was always something about those moments, which we spent singing the choruses we all had learnt in church and some in our schools, which made everything feel like it was all happening the way things were meant to be. We were all part of something bigger than all of us. A common love for the Christmas songs and carols brought together even the fiercest feuding family members.

Not just parties, performances of Christmas music at public concerts, in churches, at shopping malls, on city streets and in private gatherings is an integral staple of the Christmas holiday in many cultures across the world.

The genesis

Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th century Rome. By the 13th century, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, the tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed. Christmas carols in the English language first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, an English chaplain, who lists 25 “caroles of Cristemas”, probably sung by groups of “wassailers” or “Carollers”, who would travel from house to house. In the 16th century, various Christmas carols still sung to this day, including “The 12 Days of Christmas”, “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” and “O Christmas Tree”, first emerged.

The Victorian Era saw a surge of Christmas carols associated with a renewed admiration of the holiday, including “Silent Night”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “O Holy Night”. The first Christmas songs associated with Saint Nicholas or other gift-bringers also came during 19th century, including “Up on the Housetop” and “Jolly Old St Nicholas”. Many older Christmas hymns were also translated or had lyrics added to them during this period, particularly in 1871, when John Stainer published a widely-influential collection entitled Christmas Carols New and Old.

Few notable carols were produced from the beginning of the 20th century until the Great Depression era of the 1930s, when a stream of songs of often American origin were published, most of which did not explicitly reference the Christian nature of the holiday, but rather the more secular traditional Western themes and customs associated with Christmas. These included songs aimed at children, such as “Santa Claus Is Comin to Town” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, as well as sentimental ballad-type songs performed by famous crooners of the era, such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “White Christmas”, the latter of which remains the best-selling single of all time as of 2017.

These songs have been now covered by millions of artists around the globe and thousands of versions of all these songs can be found if looked up online. Not just simple covers, now one can find versions of these carols in various regional languages as well. Churches or artists belonging to particular regions within the country make it a point to translate these songs into their regional languages in order to make them easier for everyone to enjoy and take part in.

One of my most recent happy memories concerning Christmas Carols happened just a few days back actually. It was the night before our turn to host the family Christmas dinner that year and my grandparents and I were trying to decide the carols I would be performing at the party. “O Come All Ye Faithful” is a timeless classic, which everyone loves to sing because of its simple yet interactive chorus. So it was only a matter of time before someone suggested that and I chose that particular carol and starting strumming my guitar and started to deliver my rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful”. Just as I reached the chorus, my grandfather, who seldom speaks Hindi, started to belt out the chorus in Hindi. The look of happiness on his face and the vibrance and sudden burst of life in his voice lit me up. I stopped playing just to listen to my grandfather relive his childhood days when he was taught in school to sing this evergreen carol in Hindi.

This incident is just a mere example of the effect a Christmas carol has on even the strictest of High ranking Army Officers, which my grandfather was. It’s not just the aged who enjoy being part of such melodious festivities. Even young children have a soft spot for songs like “Jingle Bells”, “Frosty The Snowman” and “Rudolph The Red-Nosed  Reindeer”.

With catchy tunes and lively and playful lyrics, these songs have cemented their place in our hearts from the earliest stage imaginable. Seeing my one-year-old nephew grin from ear to ear and shake a leg at these carols just further drives home the point, showing how music defies age, colour, status and language. Everybody has a little way of representing their identity and that of their generations through the music they choose to listen to and sing during the wonderful Christmas season.

Changing times

Sometimes, the same songs may have been sung by various artists, who represent different generations. While the elderly might prefer listening to “White Christmas” by Pat Boone, whose splendid baritone represents the rugged and raw voice of that generation, The youngsters may listen to the same song by the Acapella group, Pentatonix, who over recent years have revolutionised the way one can use their voices in music.

It’s commonly seen that people from economically backward backgrounds get in on the Christmas cheer, singing their own carols in their own languages. A Bhojpuri version of “Jingle Bells” has lately gone viral. Not only on the Internet but people belonging to the era hooked to Christmas songs sung by the band Boney M, which has acquired critical as well as love from fans from all over the world, appreciate the fact that Christmas carols are being made easily available for the less fortunate as well.

Every new innovation has its early acceptors and skeptics or critics as well. Some may argue that carols in such regional languages may lead to some sort of trivialisation of the songs, which are held dear by so many generations of Christians. What they don’t realise is that these people are now being able to receive the message of peace, love and brotherhood easily and are letting such teachings into their lives willingly.

Whatever one may say, Christmas does bring about a certain vibe or aura that leaves the heart and tummy warm as well (thanks to the endless list of Christmas season goodies). Memories are attached with every single tradition of this festive season. Maybe that’s  what makes every Christmas season so special. The carols one once sang to pay homage to all that has passed and the new artists, to whom the new generation listens to, represent what is still yet to come over the next few years and teach us to celebrate each moment of life and cherish the little things.

Love, laughter, camaraderie and peace, that’s Christmas to me.